The Hoosiers Plan to Prove They Are For Real This Friday

Written By: Nick Gonzales (@nrgonzales_)

Throughout the entire season, people have doubted the Hoosiers’ ability to compete in big games and that doubt grew after an underwhelming performance against Ohio State. This doubt that is cast upon them has driven the team all year and they will continue to play in the College Football Playoffs with that chip on their shoulder.

“We know we're supposed to be here. We know we belong. But we're always going to have that chip. We remember what everyone was saying during the season and remember what everyone is saying now. We're all we need. We going to go down there, just focus on us and try to handle business, you know,” Elijah Sarratt said during his media availability on Tuesday.

No matter what they have accomplished or how they accomplished, there will continue to be skepticism about the Hoosiers until they can defeat a “quality opponent.” Many of these players have had a chip on their shoulder since they started playing in college. Transfers like Elijah Sarratt and Mikail Kamara feel as if they were underrecruited and underappreciated coming out of high school and are grateful that Coach Cignetti gave them a chance to prove themselves. The team will be traveling to South Bend this weekend with the same chip on their shoulder.

“I think it's just something that's just there, right. I think it's something that we've all had because we've always been underdogs and now to come in this situation and still be looked at as an underdog that chip continues to grow to be honest with you.

No matter how many sacks I get, no matter how many plays Pond makes, Rourke makes, Fish makes, the chip just gets bigger and bigger every single time because you know if you have one good game -- but one bad game they are going to trip you so every single game, you've got to trip it.” Mikail Kamara stated about the chip on their shoulder and what drives them during Tuesday’s player availability.

Kamara has been playing outstanding this year and has shown that he can compete with the best. During his first season with Indiana, he totaled 44 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, three fumble recoveries, two forced fumbles, and a pass deflection. Kamara has played like a beast all season long and has showed how aggressively fast he can get to the ball by leading Power-4 players in total quarterback pressures according to Pro Football Focus.

Many people might be surprised about the number of outstanding players on Indiana’s roster that had no stars coming out of high school. Players like Aiden Fisher, Elijah Sarratt, Mikail Kamara, Ty Son Lawton, Jailin Walker, and more. There are teams like Ohio State who have 14 five-stars on their roster while Indiana has zero. Their roster may not seem stacked, but they’ve worked their butts off to get where they are now and still feel the need to prove everyone wrong. They came to IU for a reason and that was to leave a legacy behind and start something great.

“Our second scrimmage going into the season and we didn't look too great. And so we had an offensive meeting, just players, and you know, that was a moment that I knew that we were going to be a very talented team. I knew that we were going to be a team that had fought through a lot of adversity and be really resilient. So we had a team meeting and we let everybody know, hey, I believe in you, you believe in me, and we can do it together. We don't need the media and everyone else to believe is us, but we believe in each other.

That moment right there, me and a few other guys, we led the meeting and we locked the doors. We had a heart to heart and we went around the room, explained to each other what do we want to get out of this season? Why are we here? Why come to Indiana? So we had that in the back of our mind every time we step on that field.” Justice Ellison replied when asked about the ambition the team has.

When you look at College Football nowadays, it’s all about the transfer portal, NIL, playing time, etc. But, when it comes to Indiana, they are a family who has each other’s backs and welcome competition so that they can continue to improve. The Hoosiers may not have a roster filled with five-stars or four-stars, but their heart is what drives them.

The Hoosiers are lucky to not have to travel far for their first playoff game this Friday. The players are all excited to be here and performing on a stage of this magnitude, but it still is just business, and they still need to take care of business and get the job done before they get to ahead of themselves.